David Bray, Executive Director of People-Centered Internet

Episode Overview

Among other topics, David discussed the following issues with Metis Strategy:

• David’s work as Executive Director of the People-Centered Internet, which seeks to create demonstration projects of the internet’s ability to measurably improve people’s lives and serve as a catalyst for change
• The reason engineers are not well equipped to recognize the unintended consequences of technology, and the growing challenge as the pace of technological progress accelerates
• How David prioritizes PCIs efforts, and their current focus on rebuilding power and communications infrastructure in Puerto Rico, helping restore the identity documents of those affected by the California wildfires, and providing internet services to Native American communities
• David’s approach to developing partnerships bringing together diverse groups of positive change agents
• The advantage of David having grown his career in the government, such as learning how to thrive in a resource-constrained environment, and how to navigate multiple constituencies
• David’s experience as a Marshall Fellow in 2018, where he looks at the rise in preferences for direct democracy and mistrust of government
• How and why David engages the academic community on topics concerning the future

Prior to joining PCI, David served as the Chief Information Officer for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). While at the FCC, David led the transformation of their legacy systems, including the roll-out of cloud-based IT that achieved results in ½ the time and at ⅙ the cost. Prior to joining the FCC, David was the Executive Director for the National Commission for Review of Research and Development Programs of the United States Intelligence Community. Prior to that, David was a Senior Strategist at the Institute for Defence Analysis (IDA) and a Defense Researcher at the Science and Technology Policy Institute (SDPI). During this time, David volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan to help “think differently” on military and humanitarian issues. Before IDA and SDPI, David was the IT Chief for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response program, where he led the program’s technology response to 9/11 and the 2001 anthrax attacks. David began working for the U.S. government at age 15.

David has received numerous awards for his work, including being named one of the top “24 Americans Who Are Changing the World” under 40 by Business Insider, the Global CIO 10 Award twice, the Fedscoop 50 leadership award three times, among many others.

David has lectured at Harvard University, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Oxford, as well as at Singularity University. David was named a Marshall Memorial Fellow for 2017-2018.

David earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and Biology from Emory University, a Masters of Science in Public Health from Emory University School of Medicine, and a PhD from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.

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